PITTSBURGH (AP)

It all happened so quickly - Thomas taking Tim Tebow's heave and
racing 80 yards on the first play of overtime to give the Broncos a
stunning 29-23 wild card victory over the Steelers nine months ago
- the Pittsburgh linebacker didn't get the full measure of what it
meant until the team was flying home.

''You don't really wake up until you're on the plane saying
`what the heck just happened' and the trainers start going up and
down the airplane talking about exit physicals,'' Foote said.
''Then you know it's real and the season is over with.''

Yet Foote doesn't view Sunday night's opener on the same field
where Pittsburgh's bid for a seventh Vince Lombardi trophy came to
an abrupt halt as a chance at revenge. A victory, no matter how
dominant, will replace the opportunity the Steelers let slip
away.

''A playoff game is a lot bigger,'' Foote said. ''If we go out
there and beat them, they're still up on us because they beat us in
the playoffs.''

Maybe if Tebow was still in Denver, things would be different.
Only he's not, instead becoming the highest profile backup
quarterback in the NFL for the New York Jets after the Broncos
signed Peyton Manning.

Now, what at first looks like a rematch is instead the unveiling
of Manning 2.0.

''Peyton stole our shine a little bit and it's about the return
of him,'' Foote said.

You'll hardly see the Steelers complaining. Not only has
Manning's presence allowed the Steelers to prepare largely out of
the spotlight, it's also allowed them to focus on the future.
Denver's offense is so different with the meticulous Manning in the
huddle there's really no point in popping in tape of the playoff
game.

''We're not dwelling on the past,'' defensive end Brett Keisel
said. ''We're focusing on the team that they have now and the
things we do good, those are the things we want to bring to the
table Sunday night.''

Besides, this is the NFL, where revenge doesn't exist.

''The only way to get a revenge game is if you put it in the
same situation with the exact same people, with the exact same time
and it means the exact same thing,'' linebacker James Harrison
said. ''There's no way you can get a revenge game.''

A notion that can take awhile to get used to when you get in the
league.

''That might be college mentality, getting another crack at
somebody,'' Keisel said. ''This league is so competitive and each
game is so competitive you really can't think about it. They have a
different team, we have a different team and we're just trying to
start the season off right.''

The Steelers will likely try to do it without Harrison. The
four-time Pro Bowler did not practice Thursday while he recovers
from minor knee procedure during training camp. Harrison told
reporters on Wednesday to ''get out of my face'' when asked about
his condition and Thursday posted a sign at his locker that he
would only give updates on Fridays during the season.

If he can't go, he'll be replaced by Chris Carter, who had a
very different view of the way last season ended. While his
teammates trudged off the field with a dazed look on their face,
the then-rookie linebacker stared at the TV set in his Pittsburgh
apartment and figured his mind was playing tricks on him.

''I spent the next 10 minutes looking for a flag,'' said Carter,
who was placed on injured reserve the week before the playoff game
with a hamstring injury.

One never came, and the Steelers wasted little time moving
forward. The 53-man roster includes a dozen players who weren't on
the team a year ago and locker room fixtures Hines Ward and James
Farrior are long gone.

That doesn't mean it won't be pangs of regret when the Steelers
run out of the tunnel on Sunday night. The task at hand, however,
is so daunting thinking about what might have been won't do any
good.

Besides, given the choice between getting another shot at Tebow
or facing Manning - who is 2-2 against the Steelers in his career -
Foote will roll the dice against a future Hall of Famer.

''As a competitor I want Peyton Manning,'' Foote said. ''I think
everybody in the world is gonna be watching, all my old girlfriends
who dumped me, everybody who talked about me, everybody who doubted
me. You get a big stage to show your talent.''

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